Litchfield's Experience in the Civil War with Historian Peter Vermilyea

LITCHFIELD, Conn. - Aug. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- One hundred and fifty years ago, in the summer of 1865, Litchfield hosted a massive celebration marking the return of her soldiers from the Civil War. Amidst the festive atmosphere, townspeople also acknowledged the nearly seventy men of the town who were killed in battle, or died as a prisoner or of disease. This talk will examine Litchfield’s experience in the war, including the raising of men to serve the Union cause, opposition to the war, the experiences of the town’s soldiers in some of the most famous battles of the war - including Antietam and Cold Harbor, the war on the home front, and how the town commemorated the war in the decades following.

         Peter Vermilyea teaches history at Western Connecticut State University and at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village. He earned his B.A. in history from Gettysburg College and is the scholarship director of its Civil War Institute. He earned his M.A. in history from Western Connecticut State University and his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership from Southern Connecticut State University. He is the author of four books including The Hidden History of Litchfield County published in 2014, and Of the People, By the People, For the People and Other Quotations from Abraham Lincoln published by Columbia University Press in 1996. Peter also maintains the blog Hidden in Plain Sight about history of Litchfield at www.hiddeninplainsightblog.com. He lives in Litchfield with his wife and two sons.

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